Mother's Hands

My mother could tat but she excelled at knitting. To the left is a doily she knit in white size 30, 24 inches across.  It has a stain and I want to clean it up to use in my home. For those of you who have read my earlier posts or know me, will know that my mother taught me to tat.  I completed one small hanky using rings only and it wasn't until 40+ years later that I learned to tat chains and began expanding on my tatting techniques.  My mother passed before I finished my first tatted doily, she did see it half way done.

So a very strange thing happened to me today.  I was searching the depths of my summer clothes looking for a pair of shorts to wear during the heat wave we are having and much to my surprise I happened upon this piece of tatting which must have been tatted by my mother.  I've pinned it out and it is tatted using ecru about a size 10.  I have some Christmas bells that mother also tatted but don't recall this doily but who else could have done it.   So after pinning it it looked familiar and as happen-chance this is the same pattern as the white doily I had been gifted from my sister, Vintage Doily Mystery, could it be that they were both tatted by my mother? Possible as they did know each other and exchanged gifts. The white one on the right has a few more rows but they are the same pattern. Wouldn't that be something but we will never know.
 

        

Update on the monsterpiece,  I am still on row 12 with one medallion left to go around before I start the next row.